VILLA CARDS1920-1924

Season 1919-20 saw Villa finish a modest 9th in the league, but a Cup win, soon followed by another (unsuccessful) final kept them at the top of the national game. There is a perception that the 1920s were a period of decline for Villa, but in truth they remained a major force in English football, albeit without a League title to boast. On the cards front, the post-war years were dominated not by tobacco firms, but by boys' comics and mags.

FA Cup winners: 1920

FA Cup runners up: 1924

1921: Nelson Lee Library (newspaper) - FootballersExtra large cards. The Villa one was given out with issue 341 on 17 December 1921.

1922: Boys' Magazine (boys' paper) - Art Photos of Famous FootballersGiven away with the magazine on 12 August 1922. Cards were printed in strips of three - the Villa man shared a long card with players from Huddersfield and Southampton respectively.

1922: D C Thomson ('The Rover' comic) - Cricketers and FootballersVilla cards issued on 11 March, 22 April and 3 June respectively. These cards are very similar to the much more extensive set from Godfrey Phillips (see below).

1922-24: Godfrey Phillips (cigarettes) - 'Pinnace' photosIssued in various sizes, with various backs. There are about two and a half thousand basic cards for the fanatic to collect, with many appearing in more than one edition. We can identify 24 Villa players and at least two large team cards. Card [1] has Charlie's first initial as G rather than C, as had the earlier card from Smiths in 1914 - suggesting some sort of link. Cards come with a variety of different back - see sample scans.

1923: D C Thomson ('The Vanguard' comic) - Vanguard Photo GalleryCards were issued in fours, printed double-sided to be folded like a birthday card. The one Villa player shared his card with three players from other clubs. It was issued on 8 December.

1923: J A Pattreiouex ('Casket' cigarettes and 'Trawler' cigarettes) - FootballersThese cards are from three sub-sets, known as Series FA, Series FB and Series FC, with one Villa player featuring in each set, plus match action photos.

c1924: J A Pattreiouex ('Casket' cigarettes and 'Critic' cigarettes) - FootballersOpinion on the year of issue varies between 1922 and c1925. Ian Dickson departed Villa at the end of 1923, so they are unlikely to be much later.